This article shows you exactly how to flash Redwolf TWRP custom recovery on Xiaomi Mi Max 2 device (codename Oxygen). Replacing stock recovery with a custom one allows you to flash third-party tweaks like SuperSU, Magisk, Sound mod, and many other modification tweaks. In addition, Red Wolf TWRP also features many cool things not available in the original build of TWRP. One of the most anticipated features is the ability to survive from incremental MIUI OTA update.
The Mi Max 2 is one of Xiaomi’s flagship phones. It sports a massive 5300 mAh battery power to provide enough juice for the beast under the hood. The beast, which is a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset featuring Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex A53 CPU, can do almost any heavy duty tasks like playing graphic-intensive games. Not to mention its Adreno 506 Graphic Processing Unit and 4GB RAM which is also the main thinker producing an unbeatable performance. Moreover, its 6.44-inch display gives its users distinctive experience in enjoying a flagship phone. Some other specifications include 64GB ROM, USB-C, Quick Charge 3.0, 12MP (Sony MX386), f/2.2 lens aperture, 1.25-micron pixels, Dual LED flash, ability to record 4K @ 30fps/720p @ 120fps videos, 5MP front camera, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, IR blaster, and so on.
Words of caution:
Please read thoroughly the article before really implementing the steps. Make sure you understand what you are going to do prior doing it. We hold NO responsibility for any risks of the broken device so please proceed with caution. Do not forget to create a backup of all your important data and files including Contact, Call logs, messages, photos, apps, and so on.
Requirements
- A Xiaomi Mi Max 2 device (Codename Oxygen).
- A compatible USB data cable type C. Make sure it is a USB data cable and not USB charging-only cable;
- A Windows-based laptop / PC. We strongly suggest you to use Windows 8/8.1/10 with 64-bit system;
- Your phone should have enough juice. Just make sure it has at least 65% battery power remaining;
- Download Minimal ADB & Fastboot Driver;
- Download Red Wolf TWRP for Oxygen;
- A spare time of your life which is not more than 30 minutes.
Please do not hesitate to click on any image(s) to click its larger version.
Steps to Flash Redwolf Recovery
Step 1 – Extract and install Minimal ADB & Fastboot driver into your computer. It is recommended to firstly disable Windows Driver Signature Enforcement mechanism prior installing the driver. You can re-enable that Windows feature again once you have installed the driver.
Necessary reading: Windows Driver Signature Disabler and Enabler tool.
Step 2 – Now install Minimal ADB & Fastboot driver software into your computer.
Step 3 – Grab your phone and enable Developer options and OEM Unlock options on your phone.
Step 4 – Next, you need to first unlock the bootloader of your device. The unlocking mechanism is basically easy but you have to wait for official permission from Xiaomi developers team. Please read and follow our previous guide on how to unlock your phone bootloader.
Read: How to properly unlock MIUI bootloader – a complete guide.
Step 5 – At this point, we assume you have already unlocked your device bootloader. Open up Windows Explorer on your computer. Find and extract the Redwolf TWRP .zip package file that you have downloaded earlier. Winzip, WinRAR, or 7zip will come in handy for this task.
Step 6 – Once extracted, rename the file from “RedWolf-026-oxygen.img” into “recovery.img” in your computer.
Step 7 – Next, grab your phone again, and turn it off completely. Reboot your phone into bootloader mode (which also known as Fastboot mode) by pressing Volume Down (-) and Power buttons together simultaneously until you see the Bunny Fastboot logo.
Step 8 – Connect your Mi Max 2 device which is already in Fastboot mode into your computer using its USB cable.
Step 9 – Now back to Windows Explorer. Go to the location of where you have extracted the TWRP flash-able image file (Step 6 above).
Step 10 – Hold down the “Shift” button on your keyboard and right-click on anywhere inside that folder. Next, choose “Open command window from here” or “Open Powershell Window here“.
Step 11 – Now in command prompt / Powershell window, type following command to check the status of your device whether it has been connected successfully or not:
fastboot devices
Your device will be displayed there. Otherwise, you may try either reinstalling the ADB & Fastboot driver or try installing Mi Flash tool.
Step 12 – Finally, issue the main magic command below which is the main magic spell to flash TWRP into your phone:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
The flashing process should take only few minutes (not more than 3 minutes).
Step 13 – Once done, you can now reboot your device into normal mode by issuing this command:
fastboot reboot
That’s it. Now you can disconnect your phone from your PC.
Give it a try
At this point, your phone should have already been turned on in normal mode. In order to enter TWRP Recovery mode, you will need to first turn it off again by pressing the power button as usual. Once it has been off, now you press and hold Volume Up (+) and Power buttons together simultaneously until it reboots into TWRP.
Final Stage
Once you are in the main menu of Red Wolf TWRP, tap on the “Advanced” menu.
Then go to the “Special Actions” section to enable following options:
- Support MIUI Incremental OTA, and
- Include System in OTA Survival.
Finally, go back to the main menu and choose “Reboot”. This will reboot your device into normal mode again. That’s it. Enjoy the newly installed Redwolf custom recovery. You can then use it to flash Magisk or SuperSU.